It's certainly been an interesting week for Star Wars fans. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller left the Han Solo movie with just three weeks left to shoot, and then Ron Howard was quickly brought in as their replacement. We now know that the directing duo's departure was less willing than it initially seemed, and due to the odd circumstances of their firing, Lord and Miller may have more creative control than anticipated. According to a loophole, the two may be eligible to assemble their own Director's Cut of the Han Solo movie.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller only had three weeks to go for filming the untitled Han Solo spinoff before Lucasfilm showed them the door. The Wrap reports that it's these very circumstances that may allow them to edit their own Director's Cut of the film. The Director's Guild is the union that protects the rights the rights of directors, while also guaranteeing them certain perks. Apparently, a little-known loophole exists in the rules of the Director's Guild that states that if a director is replaced after filming at least 90% of the movie, then they have a right to cut their own version. Here's the exact wording of the rule:
A director who is replaced after directing ninety percent (90 percent) but less than one hundred percent (100 percent) of the scheduled principal photography of any motion picture shall be the Director of the film entitled to all the post-production creative rights set forth.
Additionally, should these requirements be met, then no one is allowed to "interfere" with the director while they create their Director's Cut. So, Phil Lord and Chris Miller would be allowed to make the movie that Lucasfilm didn't want them to. However, Disney is apparently under no obligation to put that cut in theaters (otherwise why fire them in the first place?), so it's unclear how viewers would ever see that version of Han Solo.
It's unknown whether the 21 Jump Street directors had completed 90% of the movie before they were let go, or if they would even be interested in making a Director's Cut. Seeing as how the rule specifies "principal photography," one would imagine that it doesn't include the months of VFX work still left to go, so it is feasible that only 10% is left to physically film. It sounds unlikely though. The loophole also seems to make it that Phil Lord and Chris Miller would still be credited as the director's of Han Solo, but, again, this is only if they met those very specific requirements.
While movie fans would no doubt love to see what Lord and Miller's version of Han Solo would have looked like, it's highly unlikely it will ever see the light of day. The Han Solo movie has a loooong difficult road ahead of it and as of now, the movie is still on track to make its May 25, 2018, release date.
